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Dear Friends, Today is day 5 of CBI in Israel. Each day is filled with new experiences, thanks to the creative planning of Arie Katz. Wishes to each of you of a Shabbat Shalom. Elie Many of us attended prayer at the Kotel this morning with Women of the Wall for their monthly service. The…

“And it shall be that when you come into the land which the Ever-Present-One your God is giving you as a heritage and you possess and settle in it, you shall take some of the first fruit…” In the Torah, that act of gratitude is coupled with specific words for the pilgrim, words also contained…

Have been wanting to learn to lead Shabbat services? Are you interested in learning more about Davening for your personal practice? Would you like to add to your existing Davening repertoire? Then watch the video below to learn Shabbat Shacharit with CBI’s Baalat Tefillah, Amy Robinson Katz! Click here for a pdf of the handout from Davening…

Huston Smith (2009) Huston Smith, who died at the age of 97 this past Friday in Berkeley, was a towering, spiritual sage. My visits with him endure as gifts of spiritual wisdom and the modeling of genuine goodness. Professor Smith was a trailblazing explorer of religions from the inside, stating, “If we take the world’s enduring…

We’ve been busy preparing for the High Holy Days and are very excited about our services this year. Our musical HAL’LU Selichot service this past Saturday night, inspired and coordinated by Amy Robinson Katz, with musicians Carl Cedar, Leeav Sofer and our Hal’lu singing team, was beautiful and soulful. Below is information about our High…

Elie Wiesel was my teacher. He passed on Shabbat. I mourn, for I loved him and felt beloved by him. During my three years of Rabbinical School in NYC, I worked at the 92nd Street Y, where Professor Wiesel gave four talks a year. He presented portraits of Biblical, Talmudic, and Hasidic figures by reading…

Shavuot begins on Saturday night. It is customary to spend that night in study in anticipation of the reenactment in the morning of the revelation at Mount Sinai. Although the Bible account is of God addressing the people with the Ten Commandments, the rabbis expanded the holiday to encompass the giving of the entire Torah. A…

Behar: The beginning of this week’s parashah focuses on the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, which will take effect after the people enter the Promised Land. Both of these laws seek social equality, with the Sabbatical annulling debts every seventh year and the Jubilee every fifty years returning land to its original tribal owners. The Bible offers hope to…